A drug addict mum got a fresh chance to go straight after a judge said it 'broke his heart' to see her criminal record.

Kelly Dennis, 28, admitted four shoplifting charges around the city, the first committed three days after getting a conditional discharge for an identical offence.

She appeared in custody at Nottingham Magistrates' Court which heard that the mother-of-two had been battling drugs for a decade.

District Judge Tim Devas told her: "It breaks my heart to see someone of your age who has committed so many offences in your short life. You have one of the worst records I have ever seen.

"How are we going to avoid committing offences to feed your drug habit? I want to see if there is some possibility of breaking the cycle."

Dennis told him: "I am working with probation and trying to get into rehab. I am trying my hardest to get in."

Rob Keeble, mitigating, said he had to accept there was "a high risk of further offences."

But he went on: "She was struggling to pay for ordinary household items. The reality is that she has a long-standing and difficult addiction to heroin. She has been struggling with that for the last ten years.

"She wants to deal with her situation and would like to be focusing in a more positive way, rather than being before the courts. She is setting a bad example as the mother of two young children."

He asked the judge to impose a suspended sentence on Dennis, of Logan Street, Bulwell, and this was agreed. She must pay £64 to replace the stolen items.

The judge, who adjourned the case for a probation report, told her: "I wish I was a bit more confident in what I am going to do.

"I am prepared to give you a chance. It is up to you whether you co-operate.

"Move heaven and earth not to commit further offences. If you get into rehab, there are people there who will help the drug problem.

"I am not entirely confident but it seems to me that it is worth trying an alternative to immediate prison, which I would suspect would not give any long term benefit at all.

"Please do something with your life," the judge added. Dennis was given a 15-week prison sentence, suspended for a year. She was told it would probably come into force if she commits another offence.

Dennis will remain on probation. The court was told that she had been given seven appointments to see probation officers and had missed two meetings without good reason.